Build a Bilingual Operations Work Sample

A bilingual work sample can show more than vocabulary. It can show whether you preserve what a person said, separate a request from a confirmation and make the next action clear to a colleague. Build a small example that lets a reviewer inspect those decisions.

The exercise below is fictional. It is optional portfolio practice, not a STEADYWRK hiring requirement or a claim about how an application will be assessed. Start with the current role description and use the exercise only if it helps demonstrate a relevant skill. Download the blank handoff template.

Start with a request that contains uncertainty

Use this Arabic message as the original text:

مرحبًا، نحتاج إلى فحص جهاز التكييف في الموقع ب. نفضّل أن تكون الزيارة صباح الثلاثاء، لكن الموعد غير مؤكّد بعد. الرجاء إرسال التقدير قبل بدء العمل، والتواصل مع منسّق الموقع لتأكيد وقت الدخول.

A faithful English rendering is:

Hello, we need the air-conditioning unit at Site B checked. We would prefer a Tuesday morning visit, but the appointment is not confirmed yet. Please send an estimate before starting work, and contact the site coordinator to confirm the access time.

Notice what the message does not establish: the calendar date of that Tuesday, the coordinator's contact details, the condition of the unit or approval to carry out a repair. Do not fill those gaps from a guess. A natural translation still needs to preserve them.

Create a handoff someone can act on

Keep the original message, your translation and the structured handoff together. Use neutral labels instead of personal details in a public portfolio.

Field	Handoff value
Request	Check the air-conditioning unit
Site	Site B
Preferred window	Tuesday morning; exact date not supplied
Appointment status	Not confirmed
Estimate	Requested before work starts
Access	Coordinator must confirm the access time
Next action	Ask for the date and coordinator contact details
Action owner	Not assigned in the source message

Keep “check” distinct from “repair.” The source asks for an inspection and an estimate before work; it does not authorize a repair. Likewise, “preferred” should not become “scheduled” just because the handoff format has a date field.

Draft the clarification in both languages

In Arabic, a concise follow-up could read:

للتأكيد: ما تاريخ يوم الثلاثاء المقصود، ومن الشخص الذي يمكن التواصل معه لتأكيد وقت الدخول؟ سنُبقي الموعد غير مؤكّد إلى حين الاتفاق على التفاصيل، ولن نعتبر طلب الفحص موافقةً على بدء الإصلاح.

In English:

To confirm, which Tuesday do you mean, and who should be contacted to confirm access? We will keep the appointment unconfirmed until the details are agreed, and will not treat the inspection request as approval to start a repair.

These are sample drafts, not messages you need to send. Explain why each question is necessary. Asking for information already present adds work for the requester; omitting a missing date can leave the next person with an unusable booking request.

Show how you handle a correction

Add a second fictional message: “The site is C, not B. The other details are unchanged.” Update the current site field and add a short correction entry that identifies the source of the change. Keep the original message in the exercise so the reviewer can follow what happened.

Avoid silently editing the translated original to say Site C. That would make the earlier message appear to contain information it did not contain. A current summary and a source transcript have different jobs: one supports the next action; the other preserves the input you received.

Make your judgment reviewable

Finish with three brief notes: a phrase whose meaning needed care, a missing fact you left unresolved and a correction you applied. If you used an AI assistant, say what it helped with and what you checked yourself. For example: “The first draft said the appointment was booked. I changed it to preferred because the Arabic explicitly says it is not confirmed.”

Ask a reviewer to read only the handoff and state the next action. Compare that answer with your intended meaning. If the reviewer cannot tell whether the visit is confirmed, revise the handoff and keep both versions with an explanation.

Publish only the fictional material and your own commentary. Link the finished exercise from a short README that states its purpose and limits. For another small technical example, see the AI-assisted coding portfolio exercise; for an application, return to current STEADYWRK opportunities and follow the instructions for the role you choose.